Dear Confluence Families and Staff,
It is hard to believe that the end of the calendar year is near. This year has been unique to say the least. We sincerely thank all of you for your patience and support. As a community, we are all working to make this experience as positive for your children – our students – and we greatly appreciate the teamwork of everyone involved. This teamwork became essential back in March, as we first dealt with what became a pandemic, and will be equally important as we work our way back to normalcy.
It is hard to believe that the end of the calendar year is near. This year has been unique to say the least. We sincerely thank all of you for your patience and support. As a community, we are all working to make this experience as positive for your children – our students – and we greatly appreciate the teamwork of everyone involved. This teamwork became essential back in March, as we first dealt with what became a pandemic, and will be equally important as we work our way back to normalcy.
Over the last two months, we have diligently observed COVID-19 health data and have taken a few extra steps to gather additional information. Using this information, we returned to in-person learning for grades PreK-5 on October 26, and we want to make sure you know the factors we will be using to make decisions regarding grades 6-8, and 9-12.
- We will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 data for our region, including test positivity rates, transmission rates, and seven-day averages of new cases.
- We will continue to work with the St. Louis Department of Health relative to health guidelines.
- We are also carefully monitoring and learning from in-person activities that are continuing go take place successfully in our network and others, including our own virtual learning support centers (VLSCs) and athletics/activities. These programs have provided valuable outlets and support for our students, while also allowing us to implement safety measures that will expand into our classrooms when we resume fully to in-person instruction for all students.
At this point, our plan is to bring students in grades 6-12 back to in-person learning on January 19 (third quarter). You can expect to receive more information on our plans in the coming weeks and a survey for families in grades 6-12 to share their intent for returning to in-person learning.
We simply cannot thank you enough for your patience during this trying time. Our greatest desire is to get our students back in our schools; however, we must do so in a way that keeps them safe and healthy. For information about our Return to Learn plan, frequently asked questions, and COVID safety precautions, please visit our website.
So far, 2020 has been a historic year, full of uncertainty. We are grateful for your flexibility, as well as your confidence in Confluence Academies, as we continue to make difficult decisions in the best interests of students and staff.
Take care and be well,
Candice Carter-Oliver, PhD
Chief Executive Officer